


The Pinocchio Effect

by I_is_a_freak



Series: Thunderbirds are people too [1]
Category: Thunderbirds, Thunderbirds are go!
Genre: Gen, They are personifications of the Thunderbirds, Thunderbirds AU, hints of Brains/Virgil, the beginnings of Gordon/Penny
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-13
Updated: 2015-09-13
Packaged: 2018-04-20 13:28:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4788974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_is_a_freak/pseuds/I_is_a_freak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"We need names," the humanoid with the green hair said. </p>
<p>"Why? We have names already."</p>
<p>"We have designations; we need human names."</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Pinocchio Effect

**Author's Note:**

> Based of a Tumblr post by http://thunderbirbthor.tumblr.com/  
> http://thunderbirbthor.tumblr.com/post/127412571315/if-the-bros-were-inspired-by-their-thunderbirds  
> and edited by the amayzing http://navigatorsnorth.tumblr.com/

"We need names," the humanoid with the green hair said. 

"Why? We have names already."

"We have designations; we need human names."

If anyone was looking in on the group they would see 4 humans sitting on a platform with a 5 written on the side. The humanoid with the yellow hair was sitting in the lap of the green hair figure and they were hugging them tight. The figure with the blue hair was sitting cross-legged and side hugging the figure with red hair who was holding on, dozing.

"We haven't needed human names before, what's changed?" The blue-haired figure asked.

"Someone interacted with a human today," The yellow-haired figure sing-songed.

The green-haired figure blushed, "Shut up FOUR." 

"Which human? The Astronaut, the Fighter or the Engineer?" Blue asked. 

Red smiled, "I bet it was the Engineer." 

"He was just so close to being right and I could feel how it was supposed to go and he was getting frustrated..."

FOUR laughed, "Was he fiddling with his glasses and wiping them on his shirt?" 

Green responded by groaning and burying their hair into FOUR's shoulder.

"See ONE," FOUR addressed the Blue-haired figure, "TWO had no chance." 

Red giggled and ONE sighed.

TWO looked up sheepishly, "I'm really sorry ONE I was just going to correct him then we got talking and then he asked and I panicked." 

"So I'm guessing you've already given yourself a name then."

"It's Virgil."

ONE cocked his head, "Where did you get that name from?"

"Oo I know this one," Red perked up a bit, "My Tracy talks about them all the time when he's taking me up to FIVE."

“Really THREE?”

“Virgil is one of the Mercury Seven who are Alan Shepard, Virgil ‘Gus’ Grissom, John Glenn, Scott Carpenter, Wally Schirra, Gordon Cooper, and Deke Slayton,” THREE yawned a bit, “Mr Tracy says if he had had sons he would have named them after the astronauts.” 

“So we should pick names from that list,” FOUR said, “Mr Tracy mutters about us being like his kids.”

“What does FIVE think?” ONE asked.

FOUR muttered “If FIVE jumped off a cliff would you?” 

“I can ask if you want,” THREE said. 

Virgil reached out to pat THREE’s leg, “No, you’re tired, you only got back an hour ago. You haven’t had time to recharge.”

“Always have enough juice to talk to FIVE,” THREE slid his eyes shut for a moment, “FIVE wants to be called John and doesn’t mind the male pronouns that would be assumed with the name.”

“No, I wanted John.” FOUR grumbled, “Fine, I want Gordon.” 

THREE looked thoughtful, “Do we have to identify as male now?"

ONE hugged THREE in a bit closer, "You don't have to if you don't want to THREE."

"I like it when Mr Tracy says 'Good Girl' and pats my console; I pick Alan."

“Virgil, John, Alan and me as Gordon, who are you going to pick ONE?” Gordon kicked lightly at ONE.

“I guess Scott is as good a name as any.” ONE shrugged, “Now off to sleep-cycle Alan, you need to recharge your systems.”

Alan nodded and then faded off.

“You too Gordon,” Scott kicked back at Gordon, “You have a pressure test in the morning and you need to make sure your circuits are all in check.”

“Yeah, yeah. See you in the morning, get it, sea yah.” 

Scott kicked at Gordon again before Gordon faded too. Scott stood up and helped Virgil to their feet.

“I really am sorry Scott.”

Scott sighed, “What did you tell The Engineer? How did you explain your presences and knowledge?”

“Um…” Virgil rubbed at the back of his head, “I kinda said I was the pilot.”

Scott scrubbed at his face with his hands, “Virgil, what happens when The Engineer goes back to The Astronaut and says he’s met the pilot that hasn’t been issued yet?”

“I don’t know. Maybe we could show ourselves; become our own pilots.”

“We could be shut down Virgil!” Scott exhaled and tried to get his breath back.

“They’ve all spent too much time and money on this International Rescue to shut us down Scott,” Virgil tried to calm down, “Please just think about it, we could be so much more than just rockets and machines.”

Scott looked hard at their sibling, “It really means that much to you.”

“I’m not saying tell the world, just the people here who can help us.”

Scott nodded, “I will manifest and talk to The Astronaut when their sleep-cycles have finished. Alone; I won’t risk any of you.”

Virgil gave Scott a crushing hug, “Thank you.”

“Yeah well remember this when I become a heap of scrap metal.” Scott returned the hug, “Now off with you, we will both need sleep-cycles of our own.”

~~~

Jeff Tracy was reading a newspaper on his display in the kitchen. He was flicking through articles with on hand and sipping a coffee. Kayo, his adopted daughter, was also drinking her coffee and looking over some reports from the mainland.

“We should start looking at recruiting pilots Jeff,” Kayo said without looking up from her pad, “Thunderbird Five is ready for operations and you shouldn’t be primary pilot for Three…”

“No business in the kitchen, Kayo,” Jeff cut her off, “We can talk about it later.”

“You said that yesterday and last week and last month. You’re going to have to let other people play with your toys if you want International rescue to work.”

Jeff just hummed and they both fell into a comfortable silence. A few minutes later Brains stumbled into the kitchen to make himself a cup of coffee.

“Morning Brains,” Jeff said, “Up all night?”

Brains yawned and sat opposite Jeff, “Yes Mr Tracy, I had some new ideas for Thunderbirds Two after talking with the pilot you hired.”

Both Jeff and Kayo’s heads shot up.

“You’ve hired someone without telling me?” Kayo crossed her arms, “Is this why you won’t talk about it?”

“Kayo, I haven’t hired anyone which means there is a person here on the island; who got through your security measures.”

“They can’t have, those measures are the best in the world; I designed most of them.”

Brains was looking between the two when another voice joined in.

“Jeff Tracy I thought I raised you better than this,” Grandma Tracy was standing with her hands on her hips and next to her was a man with blue hair.

“Mother…” Jeff stood up

“Don’t mother me, leaving this poor young man to wander around the place without showing him where to go.”

“Grandma, I need you to step away from him,” Kayo got up and moved slowly towards the pair.

Grandma looked at the shocked faces at the table and then at the man next to her. The man shrugged and stepped to the side to create distance.

Jeff stood behind Kayo, “Now I’m only going to ask you this once, who are you?”

“That is an involved question but I guess on a surface level you can call me Scott.”

“And how did you get on this island?”

Scott tilted his head then closed his eyes, after a pause he opened his eyes again, “That is a more complicated question than your first. I am more than willing to answer all your questions though; this is why I am here.”

“You are the pilot that was talking to Brains yesterday?” Kayo asked.

“No,” Brains said, “This is someone different.”

“How many of you are there?” Kayo advanced on Scott.

“Kayo,” Grandma stopped her, “Scott has agreed to answer your questions but maybe we can make him more comfortable.”

“There are at least two unknowns on the island.”

“Mother is right,” Jeff put a hand on Kayo’s shoulder, “We can go up to the control centre.”

Scott nodded and started towards the stairs; Grandma followed but the others lingered behind.

Jeff turned to the scientist, “Brains, will you be alright to come with me?”

Kayo protested, “Jeff, I should go with you.”

“No. If there is someone else here then I want Brains up here in the open.” Jeff nodded, “Kayo, I want you to go down to the hangers and look for the other pilot or any sign of tampering. This other man was with Brains when we were in space so he knew Brains was alone.”

“Mr Tracy, I don’t think that Virgil is dangerous.”

“Virgil?” Jeff asked.

“The pilot from yesterday,” Brains adjusted his glasses, “He was friendly and he helped me fix a problem I was having. He had green hair if that helps.”

“So he would be open to questions Kayo,” Jeff looked at his security officer, “Ask first, punch later.”

Kayo rolled her eyes and left the room.

Jeff squeezed Brains' shoulder, “Let’s go see what this man has to say.”

~~~

Jeff and Brains climbed the stairs to the upper level where Jeff’s desk was.  
Grandma was sitting on a couch in the centre circle but Scott was standing on the other side, facing the stairs, giving her plenty of room.

“Jeff, can you please tell this poor boy he can sit down. He’s stiffer than an ironing board.”

Brains joined Grandma on the couch.

Jeff resisted the urge to sit at his desk and chose to sit on Thunderbird Three’s chair, “So, I’ve asked some complicated questions, we’ve got nowhere to be, take as long as you like.”

Scott looked towards the stairs, “Where’s The Fighter?”

“The Fighter?” Jeff looked towards the stairs as well, “Oh, you mean Kayo. She has somewhere else to be.”

Scott closed his eyes and then reopened them, “Before I begin I need you believe me when I say I am telling you the truth; I have no reason to lie to you.”

“How about you say your piece and we go from there.”

“You asked me who I was, that was the wrong question. The correct question is what am I.” 

There was a pause before Jeff asked, “Okay, what are you?”

“My designation is Thunderbird ONE.”

“I’m sorry?” Jeff sat up straight.

“You’re Thunderbird One?” Brains adjusted his glasses, feeling awkward as Scott stared at him.

Scott started to say something when the communication table beeped and a hologram of a man appeared above it, projecting from the third panel from the right.

Jeff jumped up, “Who are you? How did you get into Thunderbird Five?”

The man turned to Scott, “I thought you were explaining things? They woke from their sleep-cycles 2.6 hours ago.”

“I was just starting John, they refuel after their sleep-cycles not during.”

Jeff looked between the two, “Okay, let’s start at the top.”

~~~

Kayo slipped quietly into the top hanger where three of the four earth-based Thunderbirds were kept. She moved slowly around the upper railing, trying to see if she could spot the intruder. She stilled when she heard a whisper behind her.

“We shouldn’t be here, we should wait for Scott.”

The voice didn’t indicate that they were aware Kayo had heard them, so she continued to see if they would make a mistake.

A different voice answered, “Why? Virgil got to meet someone, I want to meet someone too.”

“But The Fighter?”

“Do you see anyone else here? Besides, she can’t be all that bad.”

“Yeah, they designate her The Fighter because she gives really good hugs.”

So there were four people on the island and they’ve been here long enough to know about her.

“I can hear you so if you don’t show yourselves by the count of three...” Kayo turned around and saw two boys, one redheaded and one blonde.

The blonde was smiling and the redhead was standing slightly behind with a nervous look. They were both wearing official International Rescue gear that seemed to match their hair colour.

“Hi.” The Blonde said.

“Who are you and how did you get here?” Kayo moved away from the rail and towards the wall just in case.

“I am Gordon,” the blonde pointed at himself then pointed at the redhead, “and this is Alan.”

Alan gave a tiny wave.

“And I think we came by air.”

Alan poked at Gordon, “Some of my larger parts came by boat.”

Gordon turned to look at Alan, “Really? What was that like?”

Alan shrugged, “I don’t know, I can’t remember.”

“Then why bring it up.”

“We should be honest with The Fighter, she could shut us down.”

“Like you would get shut down, The Astronaut wouldn’t…”

Kayo was just watching them talk, “Boys…”

“And girls.” Gordon interrupted as they both looked at her, “Alan is a girl but I don’t really mind either way.”

“Okay, people then.”

Gordon shrugged, “I guess but that’s technically wrong too. Didn’t Scott explain anything? We are machines so not really people at all, more like things.”

Kayo regarded the two before her, “I guess he skipped that part.”

Gordon threw their hands up, “See Alan, this is why we shouldn’t have let Scott go alone, they’re useless.”

Alan hit Gordon’s shoulder, “Scott’s not useless; it’s just that they only tell you what they want you to know. Anyway John is on the comms with Scott so between the two Mr Tracy and The Engineer should get all the information they want.”

“Oh, yeah, John will set them all straight.”

Kayo blinked in surprise, “How many of you are there?"

Gordon tilted their head in confusion, “Five, of course.”

Kayo tried to get control of the conversation again, “Where are the rest?”

“Do you want our physical locations?”

“Well of course, I want to know where you are.”

Alan counted off on her hands, “I’m in my silo; Gordon is down in the lower hanger waiting on the pressure test later today; Scott is in their second platform. Virgil is in the lower hanger too but The Engineer put their system through a debugging program so you won’t get to meet them for another hour or two.”

“And John is just floating around.” Gordon started laughing like it was the best joke in the world, “Get it? 'Cause he’s in space.”

“You are not funny Gordon,” Alan shoved them forward then closed her eyes, “John is currently in the Thermosphere heading past Chile.”

Kayo gaped at them for a moment, “You’re telling the truth? You really are the Thunderbirds.”

They both nodded.

Kayo made a decision, “Okay, come with me. I’m taking up to the control centre to meet everyone in person.”

“We get to go upstairs?” Alan looked nervous again, “Out of the hangers?”

Gordon looked excited, “Yes! Virgil is going to be so jealous when they find out.”

“Start walking, I’ll tell you when to turn.” Kayo gestured towards the exit.

~~~

Kayo walked the two Thunderbirds though the house and up the stairs to the control centre. She was surprised when they crossed the threshold of the hanger into the house their clothes changed from IR uniforms to more casual gear without either of them noticing. Gordon’s colour scheme stayed yellow with a beach theme. Alan had a green shirt on and looked more like a teenager than before.

Alan got up first and ran to the centre, “John! Hey John how are you?”

John waved at Alan, “All systems go up here Alan, thank you for asking.”

Grandma waved to get their attention, “Excuse me, I have a question? John you look very much like my late daughter-in-law.”

John’s eyes shut for a moment, “Lucille ‘Lucy’ Tracy, wife of Jeff Tracy.”

“Thunderbird Five was the Thunderbird Lucy had the most impute over,” Brains added.

Kayo said, “Gordon has your sense of humour Jeff.”

“Yes, take that Alan,” Gordon pointed, “Now you have to say I’m funny or else you’re saying Mr Tracy isn’t funny.”

“You will never be funny Gordon,” Alan groaned and put her head in her hands, “Maybe you have the same sense of humour 'cause you’re a joke.”

Gordon tackled Alan into the couch and started tickling her, “You take that back.”

“Scott looks like Jeff when he was going through training to be an astronaut and Alan looks like Jeff in his teens.” Grandma supplied, “Is that because Jeff designed the rockets?"

“Scott is appears older because Thunderbird One is the first responder,” Brains said, “Maybe Alan reminds Jeff of his younger days.”

“So Brains,” Kayo stayed on the floor level and squatted down behind Brains, “If the Thunderbirds look like what the designer wants them to be, what does Thunderbird Two look like?”

Brains spluttered and fiddled with his glasses, “He was very sweet and was strong enough to lift up one of the metal struts so I could weld it.”

Jeff held his hands up to get the room’s attention, “Well, this has been a busy morning and has given us a lot to think about. I need to make a few calls and work a few things out.”

“Mr Tracy…” Scott stepped forward.

“It’s okay, I’m not going to scrap you. If anything this has opened up more possibilities.”

Scott looked at him then addressed their siblings, “Okay let’s go. We should give them time to talk.”

“Bye John!” Alan yelled before John winked out. The rest of them faded leaving nothing behind.

“That was something wasn’t it,” Grandma stood up, “You’ve really created something special here Son.”

~~~

Lady Penelope landed on Tracy Island in the new FAB1 which Jeff and Brains had built for her as part of her involvement in International Rescue.

Jeff greeted her us she landed, “Hello Penny, I’m so glad you could make it on such short notice.”

Penny shook Jeff’s hand, “You made it sound important in the vidcall so I came as soon as I could.”

“Would you like some help with your bags,” Jeff started towards the car but stopped when he saw an older gentleman already unloading bags.

“That’s fine Mr Tracy, Parker has it all under control,” Penny laughed, “I have tried to help on occasion but he refuses.”

“When did you hire a chauffeur?”

“Parker came with the car. He knew all the ‘special’ extras so I assumed you had hired him. You didn’t, did you?”

Jeff smiled at her, “No, I would have given you the heads up. How’s he been anyway?”

“He’s been exceptional Mr Tracy. A quick learner, his only fault is he doesn’t like Sherbet being in the car. I quickly told Parker that he'd best get used to it.”

Parker came over with the bags to where the two were standing, “Ready M’Lady.”

Penny crossed her arms, “Parker?”

“Yes M’Lady?”

“Mr Tracy didn’t hire you to work with me, did he?”

“I never said he did M’Lady, I just said I came with the car.”

Jeff crossed his arms too, “With the car Parker or are you FAB1?”

Parker almost dropped the rest of the luggage, “I don’t know what you saying Mr Tracy.”

“Well considering I have five boys running around this island claiming that they're human representations of my Thunderbirds then you being FAB1 isn’t a stretch.”

“You have one girl and three unspecified beings on this island,” Kayo came down the stairs to greet them, “The boy is in space.”

Penny hugged Kayo, “Kayo, it’s always a pleasure to see you. Now are these beings as you say the reason I’m here?”

Jeff nodded, “Yes, we are waiting on Colonel Casey but we can give you a quick rundown on the situation.”

“M’Lady,” Parker said, “I could stay with the car it would make you more comfortable.”

“Of course not Parker, even if Mr Tracy hasn’t hired you, you’ve been nothing but loyal and helpful to me.” Penny linked arms with Kayo, “Now tell me all about it Kayo.”

Jeff took a bag off Parker, “Well I’ll show you the way to her room.”

“I mean no harm Sir, I will protect her with my life.” Parker stood defiant.

Jeff smiled at him, “Then we will get along well.”

~~~

While Penny took some time to freshen up after her travel to Tracy Island Kayo explained to her that the Thunderbirds had personifications and wanted to pilot themselves. They attempted to discuss the issue with Parker, but he couldn't offer them much beyond what they already knew.

"They weren't created with anyone in mind, M'Lady,” Parker said as he acquainted himself with Penny’s room, putting her things away, “I suppose that they rather developed their personalities independently."

"And you, Parker?"

"FAB1 was produced and manufactured specifically for you M'Lady, and as such you are my primary pilot."

Penn pursed her lips, "Parker, I don't exactly see how that makes me your pilot. I don't drive."

"Of course not M'Lady. But I do go where you tell me."

"I suppose you’re right."

"Are you ready to meet everyone? They're waiting for us in the control centre," sensing an impasse, Kayo gestured to the hall.

Leaving the guest rooms behind, the trio walked down the halls towards the control centre. They had just turned a corner when a red blur sped past, almost knocking them over.

"Alan! No running in the house!" Kayo yelled, "Honestly, you give them an inch..."

Before she could finish, a sudden yellow blur careered into Penny, knocking them both to the ground.

"Watch where you’re going," The yellow haired man said as he untangled himself from Penny.

Penny sat up, "I beg your pardon? Watch where I'm going? You are the one who barged into me. I was standing perfectly still. IF anyone needs to watch where they're going it would be you."

"I wouldn't have barged into you if you hadn't been taking up the entire hallway."

"Excuse me? I'll have you know..."

"Just ignore Gordon," a new voice said, "he's just grumpy because The Astronaut cancelled his dive today."

"It was going to be a pressure test too." Gordon muttered, returning to his feet while Kayo helped Penny up.

"TWO? How are you?” Parker patted the newcomer on the back, “You're looking well.”

"Never been better, FAB1. Brains just installed some new hardware which is feeling good," TWO grinned, "and you can call me Virgil now."

"They call me Parker. I've even got my own bedroom in the house on top of my spot in the garage."

"Whoa, hold up a sec. How do you two know each other? And who is Brains?" Gordon asked.

"Brains? The Engineer? He said it was fine if we called him that."

"Since when?"

"We talked when he came down to check my test results earlier." Virgil shrugged, "Brains apologized for using male pronouns for me and I told him I was okay with that."

Gordon smirked, "What, and you were too tired to transmit that data to the rest of us?"

Virgil blushed, "It may have slipped my memory banks."

Parker nudged Virgil slightly, "Virgil here was the one who delivered me to Lady Penelope's house."

Gordon cocked his head to the side, "who's Penelope?" 

"That would be me," her arms were crossed, "while all this chit chat has been lovely, I have somewhere to be. Kayo, I believe you were showing me the way to the control centre?"

Penny looked Gordon up and down, distinctly unimpressed. After the tangle he had ended up in front of her, and was now blocking the corridor.

"Move out of my way."

Gordon crossed his arms, "No."

"Move. Or else I will move you; and I can promise that you will not like the result."

"With respect, your Ladyship, I am 16 tonnes of precision engineering. I would like to see you try."

Virgil gave a heavy sigh, stepping forward. In one fluid movement he lifted Gordon into a fireman's hold and kept walking, "come on Gordon. We should be trying to gain their trust not give them more reasons to melt us down. Honestly..."

Gordon just flopped over his shoulder. Virgil was the strongest of the Thunderbirds and there was no point in trying to fight him, “she started it.”

Penny watched them disappear from sight before turning to Kayo, "if that was one of those personifications then mark me down as a no."

Kayo gave her a look, "Really?"

"Yes, he is rude and arrogant."

Kayo merely raised an eyebrow. Penny looked away, "fine. Perhaps he was a little cute, but only a touch."

Kayo snorted, "Yeah, just a bit. Let's keep going."

~~~

Colonel Casey was not an unreasonable women; she was realist. It was one of the reasons her friendship with Jeff Tracy was so long lasting. Jeff would have his head in the stars and it was Timara’s job to pull him down to Earth. On the other hand, every now and then it was Jeff’s job to take her flying like he was with International Rescue.

“Jeff, I thought we agreed that I would get to help choose your pilots.”  
Casey had talked with Scott and John and while they seemed to be competent enough, when a teenaged boy ran up and introduced himself the pilot of the SSTO Rocket she had to wonder what Jeff was up to.

“We did Tim, and that’s why you’re here.” Jeff was sitting at his desk, “I’ll explain when everyone arrives.”

“They are just boys Jeff. You want to put kids in charge of not only your billion dollar machines but the protection of the world.”

“Alan is a girl,” Jeff interjected, smiling that irritating 'know-it-all' smile.

Timara simply sighed. Knowing that she wouldn’t get anything out of Jeff before he was ready, she surveyed the control centre from her place beside Jeff’s desk. Brains and Grandma were talking on one of the couches as Scott and Alan were chatted to John’s projection.

Scott was the first to spot the pair ascending the stairs, “Virgil what on earth are you doing?”

“I am displaying my primary function of heavy lifting and transportation. What was it Gordon, 16 tonnes?”

“Scott! Tell him to put me down!” Gordon yelled from where he was still draped over Virgil's shoulder, “he has to listen to you, you’re the field commander.”

Scott glared at Virgil, who simply grinned back at him, “Virgil deploy Gordon and let’s give the impression we’re normal.”

“What’s normal these days?” Virgil retorted as he dropped Gordon on the floor and moved towards the centre of the room, away from the inevitable kick.

“I see you’re still where you belong,” Penny remarked as she breezed past where Gordon was sitting.

“I wouldn’t be here if…”

Kayo stopped Gordon from talking and helped him up, “let’s just concentrate on the matter at hand for now.”

Timara watched all this then turned to speak to Jeff. Seeing the fond look on his face, she knew she had lost already but she still felt the need to raise at least a token protest.

She gestured at the scene before her, “Really, Jeff?” 

Ignoring her, Jeff stood up and addressed the room, “Alright, now that we're all here we can get started. This is Colonel Casey. She has the final decision on who will pilot the Thunderbirds.”

Gordon moved to sit next to Alan, “I thought we were going to pilot ourselves.”

Casey straightened, “And what makes you think you are qualified to pilot the Thunderbirds?”

“Why do we need to be qualified?” Gordon crossed his arms.

Virgil ruffled Gordon’s hair, “Don’t worry Gords, you’ll get launched eventually.”

Alan laughed as Gordon pushed Virgil off, “Shut up Virgil and same to you Alan just ‘cause you’ve had over fifty flights.”

“Maybe rockets are just better than submarines,” Alan ducked to the other side of Scott to avoid Gordon’s swing.

Casey heard a chuckle from Jeff from beside her, “So you can’t operate a submarine? That sounds like something that might stop someone from being a pilot.”

“Hey, I can operate myself just fine.”

“I’m sure that’s what you tell yourself,” Penny chimed in.

Casey was about to make a retort when Jeff stopped her, “what do you think? Not about their skills but of them.”

Casey surveyed the room, “what aren’t you telling me Jeff?”

“You have to believe me.”

“That sentence normally gets me into a lot of trouble.” 

“These are personifications of the Thunderbirds themselves.”

Casey paused and regarded the room again, “There are still some logistical issues and I want to add more tests before your official launch.”

Jeff patted her on the back, “I have a few in mind already but would love your input.”

"I'm going to ask you this once. Are you sure we can trust them?"

Jeff paused, giving the question the time it deserved, "Yes. They have been around the island for a few years now and I've not once had a problem with them. I created them and we've put our souls into them. I don't think there will be a problem we can't work out."

Casey nodded at Jeff, "I will support your decision."

"Good," Jeff grinned, "'cause they are going to need you as a mentor to show them how to behave. Hey Alan!"

Alan broke off from the banter in the centre of the room and came over, "Yes, Mr Tracy?"

"Okay first, I've told you, call me Jeff. Mr Tracy makes feel old," he laughed, "and two, how about you take Timara here up for a spin? She hasn't seen Thunderbird Five for a while, it would give her a chance to see John all finished."

Alan fist-pumped the air, "Yes! I mean, of course Mr Jeff. Come on Colonel Casey the launch sequence starts over here."

Alan took Casey's hand and pulled her over to the chairs.

"Hey," Gordon called out, "how come Alan gets to launch and my test gets cancelled?"

Jeff picked up a pad from his desk, "I was just about head down to start the test now but if you don't want to..."

"No, no I do," Gordon jumped up the stairs, "Come on Virgil, let's go."

"Don't spring a leak!" Alan yelled as she sat down to activate the chairs.

Casey watched the group as she descended to the tunnels and thought, "At least things should be interesting."


End file.
